7.1 Who Shot Mr. Burns Part II
The conclusion of the The Simpsons two-parter has some classic moments with a guilt stricken Smithers and an enraged Homer. Maggie as the villain feels like letdown, but I loved the Twin Peaks reference, Tito Puente, and Lisa’s detective work.
7.2 Radioactive Man
Bart and Milhouse audition for the part of Fallout Boy in the new Radioactive Man movie starring Rainier Wolfcastle. Milhouse gets the part, but is disillusioned with the Hollywood machine and eventually replaced by Mickey Rooney.
I love episodes which expand on The Simpsons universe (especially ancillary stuff like Radioactive Man). I love the Mickey Rooney cameo, the revelation Moe was in The Little Rascals, and Comic Book’s guy’s acerbic internet postings. A solidly entertaining episode.
7.3 Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily
Bart gets lice and Lisa has a problem with her shoes. Protective services are called and the Simpson kids are sent to a foster home: The Flanders.
The funniest part of the episode is when the car carrying the children away drives them next door. We know Homer is a bad parent, but it’s an exaggerated world. When the show brings in real world consequences, it taints the humor. I don’t care for this episode which feels like it was written by Frank Grimes to show what a clout Homer is.
7.4 Bart Sells His Soul
Bart decides he doesn’t need a soul and sells his to Milhouse, however, after a frightful night, he decides he wants it back. Milhouse has already sold it to Comic Book Guy, who unbeknownst to Bart has sold it to Lisa, who returns the soul to a grateful Bart.
This is one of my all time favorite episodes and contains a lot of my favorite jokes. Reverend Lovejoy: “This sounds suspiciously like rock and/or roll.” Milhouse trading Bart’s soul for Alf pogs. Uncle Moe’s feed barn. The organist collapsing after playing Ina-Gadda-Da-Vida. Homer and Marge reminiscing about making out to a hymn. It’s a pitch perfect episode and a glimpse into the awesome potential writer Greg Daniels possessed.
7.5 Lisa the Vegetarian
After encountering a cute lamb at the petting zoo, Lisa becomes a vegetarian. Her principled lifestyle change leads her to sabotage Homer’s barbecue in protest. After a pep talk with fellow vegetarians Paul and Linda McCartney (and vegan Apu), Lisa learns how to stay true to her convictions and live with her family.
It’s a defining Lisa moment and one of her best episodes. McCartney’s cameo is sublime, and the family mocking Lisa with a conga line, “You don’t make friends with salad,” is an all time funny moment.
7.6 Treehouse of Horror VI
This is one of my favorite Treehouse installments. In the first segment, large billboard and advertising icons come to life; Lard Lad is a great villain in the vein of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The second segment recasts Willie as a Freddy Krrueger style villain in a witty take on a venerable horror franchise. In the final segment, Homer is sent to an alternate dimension and eventually finds himself in our universe. The 3-D rendering of Homer and the first live action sequence in the show’s history could have been hokey, but instead, both are highlights for me.
7.7 King Homer
I know many rank this among the series’ best, but Homer’s quest to get disability benefits by gaining weight doesn’t hold up for me. I’m not opposed to humor which pokes fun at large people or the inevitable silliness of a system which sets criteria for when someone can work and when they can’t, however, this seems like punching down and feels mean spirited.
7.8 Mother Simpson
Homer discovers his deceased mother isn’t dead, but a wanted fugitive. He bonds with her, but as the authorities close in, she flees.
My biggest complaint is the beginning of the episode: Homer faking his death to avoid picking up litter is forced. Glenn Close is great as Mona Simpson. I like Mona’s connection to Wiggum and I enjoyed adding to the Simpsons family, but I’m confused why they focused a whole episode on Homer’s previously unseen mother, but act like Marge’s mother doesn’t exist.
7.9 Sideshow Bob’s Last Gleaming
I’m a huge Sideshow Bob fan, but this is the first of his appearances which left me underwhelmed. It’s not a bad episode, but his attempt to blackmail the city into cancelling Krusty by threatening them with a nuclear weapon is vastly inferior to his previous appearances.
7.10 The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
I don’t like clip shows. I know this is a parody of a popular sitcom convention, but it’s lazy. However, in this one, the ending montage of nude scenes set to “Shake Your Booty” is very funny and wins a lot of bonus points. I liked the animated versions of Matt Groening, Sam Simon, and James Brooks, as well as the show’s acknowledgment of its Tracey Ullman roots. This solid is spectacular by clip show standards.
7.11 Marge Be Not Proud
Marge won’t let Bart buy a violent video game, so he steals it. When he’s caught, Marge defends him until video surveillance proves his guilt. This act of betrayal causes a rift in their relationship, until Bart surprises his mother with a sweet Christmas gift.
This is a rare Bart / Marge centric episode. In the core family, their relationship may be the least explored. I appreciate the effort to correct this, but I wish there had been a little less heart and more funny. Definition of the middle of the road for this season.
7.12 Team Homer
Homer tricks Mr. Burns into financing his bowling team. When Burns discovers the ruse, he demands to become a team member, replacing Otto.
I love Homer’s line: “I’m tired of being a wannabe league bowler, I want to be a league bowler.” The Pin Pals are great, the other bowling league teams are spot on, especially the Holy Rollers and the Home-Wreckers. The B plot of Bart’s “Down with Homework” T-shirt and school uniforms is not as funny to me, until the wet uniforms turn the school into a psychedelic party. I love Homer’s trophy case, and the fact Burns inadvertently won the league championship for the team. Great episode.
7.13 Two Bad Neighbors
When former President George H.W. Bush moves in next door to the Simpsons, Bart’s antics lead to a feud between the two families.
Bart’s relationship with the former President echoes Dennis the Menace, while Homer’s is inspired by Bush’s famous reference to the show during his presidency. It’s an experiment in the show’s tone, juxtaposing real life and the exaggerated world of the show. It doesn’t 100% work, but it’s a nice effort, and the debut of Disco Stu is a reminder the show could still create vivid characters after seven seasons.
7.14 Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield
After Marge buys a cheap Chanel suit, she’s invited to attend a fancy country club. The pressure to impress the club makes her more critical of, and embarrassed by, her family. Usually, these episodes pitting someone’s ambition against the family involve Lisa, but this is one is unique because it’s Marge who struggles with balancing the world’s opinion of her with her devotion to her family. While Homer golfing with Mr. Burns is fun, Brandyne’s debut is a little too heavy for me and fairly forgettable.
7.15 Bart the Fink
After Bart accidentally exposes Krusty’s tax fraud, a despondent Krusty fakes his death. The Simpson children sniff out the ruse and convince their favorite clown (now posing as a longshoreman) to return to show business. Krusty’s fake death is too dark for the me, but anything with Bob Newhart can’t be all bad.
7.16 Lisa the Iconoclast
Lisa discovers Jebediah Springfield was a fraud, but when she realizes how important the myth is to the people in the town, she decides to keep his secret.
Donald Sutherland is great as the curator of the Jebediah museum, and Lisa’s decision seems prescient in light of recent efforts to destroy all monuments of the past. I love this episode. It shows Lisa willing to swallow her pride, realizing the world is not about her or how smart she is.
7.17 Homer the Smithers
After a series of mishaps, Smithers is forced to take a vacation. Hoping to find a replacement who will make him look good, Smithers recruits Homer. Unfortunately, Homer’s ineptitude forces Burns to fend for himself. Having become self-reliant, he no longer needs Smithers’ assistance.
Parts of it I enjoyed, like the revelation Burns’ mother is still alive and intimidates him, and while I’m usually a fan of the Burns / Smithers dynamic, I’ve had enough of Waylon and Homer vying for workplace prominence. It’s an okay, but not great episode for me.
7.18 The Day the Violence Died
During a parade honoring Itchy and Scratchy, Bart and Lisa befriend vagrant Chester Lampwick (Kirk Douglas) the erstwhile actual creator of Itchy who was cheated out of his royalties by Roger Meyer Sr. (the creator of Scratchy). They help Lampwick in his quest for restitution, but this bankrupts the studio. Fortunately, Eliza and Lester (a pair of Bart and Lisa doppelgangers) save the studio with some legal maneuvering of their own.
It’s an episode chocked full of self referential jokes about the show and animation. I love Douglas and the Schoolhouse Rock parody. It’s one of my favorite Itchy and Scratchy episodes. I appreciate when the show explores the background of the peripheral characters and institutions in their universe.
7.19 A Fish Called Selma
To dispel rumors about his bizarre sex life and revive his flagging career, Troy McClure dates and marries Selma. However, when McClure’s agent suggests they have a child to secure a role in a McBain movie, Selma balks.
The Planet of the Apes musical is a highlight, and I enjoyed Hartman getting a chance to shine as McClure; it was fun to see the character more integrated into the city’s life. It’s a good episode and Jeff Goldblum is great as Hartman’s agent, MacArthur Park, but Patty and Selma are not interesting to me and Selma’s willingness to be a sham wife for a chance at fleeting companionship is depressing.
7.20 Bart on the Road
Bart makes a fake driver’s license, rents a car, and goes on a road trip to the World’s Fair in Knoxville with Milhouse, Nelson, and Martin. Sadly, their information was outdated and the fair took place fourteen years ago. Most of the buildings built for the festival are abandoned and derelict. To raise money for the return trip, Bart works as a courier and enlists Lisa to help.
It’s a weak entry in this season and not quite bizarre enough to make a real impression. I enjoyed the gag of the boys arriving years too late, but most of it didn’t click for me.
7.21 22 Short Stories About Springfield
One of my favorite episodes demonstrates how deep the bench of memorable characters on the show is and how versatile an animated program can be. Highlights include: the numerous Pulp Fiction references, Nelson and the very tall man, Skinner telling Chalmers the aurora borealis is localized in his kitchen, and Bumblebee Man’s home life. Such a great, great episode.
7.22 Raging Abe Simpsons and His Grumbling Grandson in ‘The Curse of the Flying Hellfish’
I love placing Monty and Abe together into a WWII adventure. I love the tontine. I love the fleshing out of Abe and Bart’s relationship. Tying the episode into Nazi plunder of famous art is genius, as well as the denouement of the spoiled, rich heir reaping the benefit of their effort. It’s a solidly entertaining episode which reinvents Grandpa’s character in a fascinating way.
7.23 Much Apu About Nothing
To appease constituents angry over high taxes, Mayor Quimby blames immigrants and sponsors a law to deport them. When Homer learns this may result in Apu’s deportation, he works to help his friend.
Apu’s American persona is hysterical and Homer’s efforts to help him are fun, but The Simpsons is not well suited for political satire and this doesn’t work for me.
7.24 Homerpalooza
To prove to his kids he’s cool, Homer attends a travelling music festival where his unique ability to absorb things shot into his belly lands him a job with the festival’s freak show. While touring, he finds the street cred he’s been looking for, but health concerns force him to retire and his kids lose their newfound respect for him.
The music cameos from Smashing Pumpkins, Cypress Hill, and Sonic Youth are fun, but the episode is boring and one of my least favorite from the season.
7.25 Summer of 4 Ft. 2
A lack of self-confidence causes Lisa to change her image during the Simpson family summer vacation. A jealous Bart sabotages her new friendships, but has a change of heart.
I like sentiment as much as the next guy, and the show needs it, but episodes which sacrifice humor for sentiment are not appealing to me. We know Bart has a soft spot for Lisa, we know Lisa has self-confidence issues. This episode is formulaic.
- Bart Sells His Soul (7.4)
- 22 Short Films about Springfield (7.21)
- Treehouse of Horror VI (7.6)
- Team Homer (7.12)
- Lisa the Iconoclast (7.16)
- The Day the Violence Died (7.18)
- Lisa the Vegetarian (7.5)
- Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in ‘The Curse of the Flying Hellfish’ (7.22)
- Radioactive Man (7.2)
- A Fish Called Selma (7.19)
- Who Shot Mr. Burns Part II (7.1)
- Mother Simpsons (7.8)
- Homer the Smithers (7.17)
- Marge Be Not Proud (7.11)
- Sideshow Bob’s Last Gleaming (7.9)
- Two Bad Neighbors (7.13)
- Bart the Fink (7.15)
- Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield (7.14)
- The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular (7.10)
- Summer of 4 Ft. 2 (7.25)
- Much Apu About Nothing (7.23)
- Bart on the Road (7.20)
- Homerpalooza (7.24)
- King Homer (7.7)
- Home Sweet Home-Diddly-Dum-Doodly (7.3)